Components of weighing module and mechanism for coupling to fixture

ABSTRACT

Shelves or other fixtures may be used to support items at a facility. Weighing modules including load cells may be used at the fixtures to acquire weight data indicative of changes to the fixture as items are added or removed from the fixture. Weighing modules may be modular and repositionable with respect to a crossbar or other supporting member that provides electrical power and data connectivity. This allows for the fixtures to be easily reconfigured to accommodate items of different sizes.

BACKGROUND

Retailers, wholesalers, and other product distributors typicallymaintain an inventory of various items that may be ordered, purchased,leased, borrowed, rented, viewed, and so forth, by clients or customers.For example, an e-commerce website may maintain inventory in afulfillment center. When a customer orders an item, the item is pickedfrom inventory, routed to a packing station, packed, and shipped to thecustomer. Likewise, physical stores maintain inventory in customeraccessible areas, such as in a shopping area, and customers can pickitems from inventory and take them to a cashier for purchase, rental,and so forth.

Many physical stores also maintain inventory in a storage area,fulfillment center, or other facility that can be used to replenishinventory located in the shopping areas or to satisfy orders for itemsthat are placed through other distribution pathways (e.g., e-commerce).Other examples of entities that maintain facilities holding inventoryinclude libraries, museums, rental centers, and so forth. In eachinstance, for an item to be moved from one location to another, it ispicked from its current location and transitioned to a new location. Itis often desirable to monitor quantity of inventory at various placeswithin the facility.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanyingfigures. The use of the same reference numbers in different figuresindicates similar or identical items or features. The figures are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and in some figures, the proportions orother aspects may be exaggerated to facilitate comprehension ofparticular aspects.

FIGS. 1-8 illustrate views of a fixture comprising weighing modulesaffixed to a crossbar, with the accessories to hold items cantileveredfrom the weighing modules, according to some implementations.

FIG. 9 illustrates a view of a fixture in which a weighing module ismounted in front of the crossbar, according to some implementations.

FIG. 10 illustrates a view of a fixture in which a weighing module isinserted into the crossbar vertically, according to someimplementations.

FIG. 11 illustrates a view of a fixture in which a weighing module ismounted atop the crossbar, according to some implementations.

FIG. 12 illustrates a view of a fixture in which a weighing module isinserted into a channel of the crossbar, according to someimplementations.

FIGS. 13-15 illustrate views of a fixture comprising a modular weighingmodule affixed to a crossbar, and the accessories are mounted atop theweighing modules, according to some implementations.

FIGS. 16-20 illustrate views of a fixture that includes a crossbar withintegrated weighing modules, according to some implementations.

FIG. 21 illustrates a view of a fixture with a modular weighing modulethat may be moved with respect to a crossbar, according to someimplementations.

FIG. 22 illustrates a view of a fixture with modular weighing modulesaffixed to a crossbar, according to some implementations.

FIGS. 23-27 illustrate views of a crossbar with a modular weighingmodule supporting a cantilevered hanger from which items may besuspended, according to some implementations.

FIGS. 28-33 illustrate views of a crossbar with a modular weighingmodule supporting a cantilevered hanger, according to someimplementations.

FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating a materials handling facility(facility) using the system, according to some implementations.

FIG. 35 is a block diagram illustrating additional details of thefacility, according to some implementations.

FIG. 36 is a block diagram of a server to support operation of thefacility, according to some implementations.

While implementations are described herein by way of example, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that the implementations are notlimited to the examples or figures described. It should be understoodthat the figures and detailed description thereto are not intended tolimit implementations to the particular form disclosed but, on thecontrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by theappended claims. The headings used herein are for organizationalpurposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of thedescription or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word“may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potentialto), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly,the words “include”, “including”, and “includes” mean including, but notlimited to.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A materials handling facility (facility) or other setting may utilizefixtures that are used to stow or otherwise hold items. The fixtures,such as gondolas or racks, are equipped with weighing modules thatgenerate weight data. The weighing modules may include one or more loadcells and associated electronics. During operation, the weighing modulesgenerate weight data from the load cells and send that weight data usinga communication interface. The weighing modules may be arranged togather information about the changes in weight occurring at a fixture.

A fixture may contain one or more of the weighing modules that supportaccessories holding the items. The weighing modules may include amechanical interface that allows for mechanical coupling to otherstructures within the fixture, such as a crossbar, accessory, and soforth. The crossbar may couple to a supporting member, such as part of agondola unit. The height of the crossbar may be adjusted to providedifferent vertical spacing. In some implementations, the mechanicalinterface may allow the weighing module to be added to the fixture,removed from the fixture, be re-positioned with respect to the crossbar,and so forth. This arrangement allows for easy reconfigurability toaccommodate items of different physical sizes at different times bymoving crossbars, weighing modules, and associated accessories.

The accessory provides physical support for one or more items. Forexample, the accessory may include a shelf, bin, hanger, and so forth.The accessory may be supported, at least in part, by one or moreweighing modules. The weighing modules provide data indicative of theweight on the accessory.

The facility may include, or have access to, an inventory managementsystem. The inventory management system may use data from the sensors ator near the fixture, such as the weight data from the weighing modules,to determine interactions in the facility. Interactions may comprise oneor more of the user picking an item from a fixture, placing an item at afixture, touching an item, bringing an object such as a hand or faceclose to an item, and so forth. For example, the inventory managementsystem may generate interaction data that indicates what type andquantity of item a user picked from a particular fixture, and then usethis interaction data to adjust the count of inventory stowed at theparticular fixture.

Use of weighing modules and the weight data offers several operationalbenefits, especially in a materials handling facility or other facility.These benefits may include mechanical robustness, relatively low costfor installation and maintenance, reconfigurability, fast sensorresponse times, and so forth.

Described in this disclosure are various structures and systems thatallow for a facility to be equipped with fixtures that utilize weighingmodules having load cells. These structures may be modular, facilitatingreconfiguration as the needs of the facility change.

By using the devices and techniques described herein, operation of thefacility may be improved. Fixtures may be reconfigured to meet changingneeds, faulty components may be easily replaced with functional ones,and so forth. As a result, flexibility of use is maximized whileoperating costs are reduced.

Illustrative System

The systems and devices described include weighing modules attached toone or more accessories. The weighing module provides load cell datathat is indicative of a weight on the accessory. This load cell data maythen be processed to determine if an item has been added to or removedfrom the accessory.

FIGS. 1-8 illustrate views of a fixture comprising weighing modulesaffixed to a crossbar, with the accessories to hold items cantileveredfrom the weighing modules, according to some implementations.

FIG. 1 illustrates a view of the fixture that comprises a crossbar 102supporting six weighing modules 104. The weighing modules 104, in turn,support a total of four accessories 106.

The weighing modules 104 include one or more load cells and generateweight data. The accessory 106 provides physical support for an item.For example, the accessory 106 may comprise a tray such as depictedhere, a bin, a hanger, and so forth. As depicted here, in someimplementations an accessory 106 may be supported by a single weighingmodule 104, or by two or more. For example, an accessory 106 that isused to stow items having a weight that exceeds a maximum weightcapacity of the load cell of a single weighing module 104 may besupported by two weighing modules 104.

The weight data from the weighing modules 104 may be provided to aninventory management system. The inventory management system may use theweight data to determine changes to inventory, for example counts ofinventory stored at a particular accessory 106.

Brackets 108 are mounted to or otherwise mechanically support thecrossbar 102. For example, a left bracket 108 and a right bracket 108are arranged on a left end and right end of the crossbar 102,respectively. The brackets 108 include engagement features 110, such ashooks or tabs, that are configured to mechanically engage correspondingengagement features such as slots on a vertical support. For example,the engagement features 110 may be configured to attach to slots in afreestanding fixture used to display items, such as a gondola.

A front bracket 112 extends from the left bracket 108 to a right bracket108 along a front of the device. For example, the front bracket 112 isarranged in front of a leading or frontal edge of the accessory 106. Agap is present between the accessory 106, the bracket 108, and frontbracket 112 allowing the accessory 106 to move under the influence of achange in weight of a load on the accessory 106. In someimplementations, the bracket 108 and the front bracket 112 may comprisea single piece of material. For example, a piece of sheet metal may becut and bent to form the bracket 108, the engagement features 110, andthe front bracket 112.

As mentioned above, in some situations two or more weighing modules 104may be used to support an accessory 106. A first location of theaccessory 106 may be affixed to a first weighing module 104 such thatlateral motion is minimized. A second location of the same accessory 106may be affixed to a second weighing module 104 in such a fashion thatvertical support is provided while lateral movement may take place. Forexample, the second location of the accessory 106 may rest atop abracket, lip, or other surface of the second weighing module 104 that isaffixed to the load cell therein. This lateral movement may prevent theaccessory 106 from binding.

FIG. 2 illustrates another view of the fixture of FIG. 1 depicting anunderside. In this view, a back side of the crossbar 102 is visibleshowing a crossbar backpiece 128. The crossbar backpiece 128 includescrossbar engagement slots 120 and a plurality of electrical conductorson a circuit board 122. In some implementations these conductors may bearranged as linear electrical contacts, with each linear electricalcontact having a long axis that is parallel to a long axis of thecrossbar 102. In other implementations, instead of or in addition to thecrossbar engagement slots 120, the crossbar backpiece 128 may includeone or more of tabs, ridges, and so forth.

In another implementation, the linear conductors may be arranged on aninterior surface or back of the circuit board 122 while vias orpass-throughs provide electrical connections to pads on the exteriorsurface. Contacts, pins, or other conductive elements on the weighingmodule 104 may then come into contact with these pads, establishingelectrical contact. In one implementation, the exterior surface mayinclude a conductor, such as a copper ground plane. Within the groundplane, the pads are present, separated from the copper ground plane by agap or electrical insulator. This configuration may reduceelectromagnetic interference emitted or received by operation of thecircuit board 122.

The crossbar engagement slots 120 provide a structure for acorresponding portion of the weighing module 104 to mechanically engage.The crossbar engagement slots 120 may be rectangular in cross section,with the cross section taken perpendicular to a long axis of theengagement slot 120. In some implementations, a top portion of theengagement slot 120 may be wider than a lower portion. This top portionnarrows to the rectangular cross section farther down the engagementslot 120. This wide top portion followed by the narrowing may facilitateinstallation of a weighing module 104. For example, a slightmisalignment would be corrected as the wider portion captures theengagement feature of the weighing module 104 and guides that engagementfeature into the crossbar engagement slot 120. The engagement slot 120may include one or more constrictions, in which the width of the slotnarrows. These constrictions may help limit movement of the weighingmodule 104 once engaged.

In other implementations the crossbar engagement slots 120 may utilizedifferent cross sectional shapes. For example, the crossbar engagementslot 120 may be trapezoidal in cross section.

One or more electrical contacts may be provided along the width of thecrossbar 102. The electrical contacts provide electrically conductivepathways that may be used to provide electrical power, datacommunication pathways to transfer data, and so forth between thecrossbar 102 and the weighing module 104. As illustrated here, a circuitboard 122 having a plurality of traces is mounted to the crossbarbackpiece 128. Along this circuit board 122 are linear traces ofelectrically conductive material such as aluminum or copper. Thesetraces have a long axis that is parallel to the long axis of thecrossbar 102. The conductors on the circuit board 122 in turn areconnected to other electronics within the fixture, to connectors, and soforth. For example, the crossbar 102 may include an RJ45 jack that iswired to the conductors on the circuit board 122, facilitating theconnection of the conductors on the circuit board 122 to a power supply,data network, and so forth.

Also shown is a lower engagement section 124. The lower engagementsection 124 may include one or more mechanical engagement features, suchas tabs, slots, recesses, rails, and so forth that are configured tomate with a corresponding engagement feature of a weighing module 104.For example, a tab may extend vertically from a bottom of a weighingmodule 104 to engage a hole or slot in the lower engagement section 124.In another example, the bottom of the weighing module 104 may include ahole or slot into which a tab extending from the lower engagementsection 124 may be inserted.

Also depicted are a pair of cross braces 126 that extend fromapproximately the center of the front bracket 112 to a rear portion ofthe brackets 108. The cross braces 126 may improve rigidity of thefixture.

FIG. 3 depicts a view the fixture of FIG. 1 showing the back of thecrossbar 102. In this view, the crossbar engagement slots 120 arevisible. The crossbar engagement slots 120 may incorporate an engagementslot stop 136, such as a block or termination of the slot that otherwiselimits vertical motion within the crossbar engagement slot 120. Forexample, the crossbar engagement slots 120 and the engagement slot stop136 may be milled or formed into the crossbar backpiece 128.

In this view, the widened top portion 138 of the engagement slot 120 isvisible. The widened top portion 138 may facilitate installation of theweighing module 104. The engagement slot 120 may include a constructionor narrowing for at least a portion of the engagement slot 120. Forexample, a lower two-thirds of the engagement slot 120 may be narrowerthan an upper one-third of the engagement slot 120.

Also shown are the exterior backpieces 140 of the respective weighingmodules 104. The circuit board 122 comprising a plurality of electricalconductors is also visible. When the weighing module 104 is installed onthe crossbar 102, respective electrical contacts on an interior surfaceof the weighing module 104 come into contact with respective electricalcontacts on the circuit board 122. These electrical contacts allow forthe transfer of electrical power and data between the crossbar 102 andthe weighing module 104. For example, the circuit board 122 may comprisefour horizontal traces extending left to right. Two traces may be usedto provide electrical power while two traces are used to provide datacommunication.

FIG. 4 depicts a cross sectional view of the crossbar 102 and theweighing module 104 of FIG. 1. In this view, the exterior backpiece 140is visible. A circuit board 122 with electronics is enclosed within theexterior backpiece 140. The weighing module 104 includes one or moreengagement rails 148. The engagement rails 148 extend away from a rearwall 150 of the weighing module 104. In some implementations theengagement rail 148 comprises a lip that is formed at a right angle withrespect to a planar surface of the rear wall 150. When installed, theengagement rails 148 are inserted at least partially within the crossbarengagement slots 120. Once engaged, left to right or lateral movement ofthe weighing module 104 is constrained. For example, the crossbarengagement slots 120 have a long axis that is oriented vertically. Whenengaged, the engagement rails 148 prevent the weighing module 104 frommoving perpendicularly (such as left and right) with respect to thecrossbar 102.

In some implementations the engagement rail 148 may be sloped or slantedat a lower end. For example, the engagement rail 148 may comprise afirst end that is distal to the top of the weighing module 104. Thefirst end may slope from a first distance with respect to the rear wall150 to a second distance that is less than the first distance.

In other implementations, the engagement rail 148 may be omitted.Instead, a screw, wedge, clamp, or other mechanism may be used toprevent lateral motion of the weighing module 104. For example, a setscrew may be turned that places pressure on the front or back of thecrossbar 102.

Also depicted is the circuit board 122 with the electrically conductivetraces. The lower engagement section 124 is also shown with holestherein. One or more tabs or pegs may extend from a bottom of theweighing module 104 to engage one or more of the holes.

FIG. 5 depicts a cross sectional view of the crossbar 102 and theweighing module 104 of FIG. 1. A module frontpiece 156 forms a cap ortop of the weighing module 104, and extends down. Beneath the modulefrontpiece 156 is a load cell 158. In some implementations the load cell158 may comprise a single point load cell. The load cell 158 may have afirst end and a second end. Each end may be affixed using one or morefasteners to another member. In some implementations, the fasteners maybe removeable, such as bolts, screws, cams, and so forth. Thisremovability facilitates repair by allowing a damaged or defective loadcell 158 to be removed and replaced. For example, as shown here themodule frontpiece 156 may include a pair of holes 162 that areunthreaded. These holes 162 may be countersunk to allow screws to beinserted and made flush against the outer surface of the modulefrontpiece 156. The first end of the load cell 158 may include a pair ofthreaded holes 164 which the screws mechanically engage. Thus, a screwmay be used to join the module frontpiece 156 to the first end of theload cell 158. In a similar fashion, an upper wall 160 of weighingmodule 104 may include holes 162 through which screws may be inserted toengage threaded holes 164 in the second end of the load cell 158. Alsoshown is the rear wall 150. In some implementations, the rear wall 150and the upper wall 160 may comprise a single piece of material.

The load cell 158 may incorporate a spacer or step that allows a gapbetween adjacent structures such as the module frontpiece 156 and theupper wall 160 during operation. When a load is applied to the loadcell, this gap may change as the load cell 158 undergoes a deflection.

Load cell wiring 166 conveys electrical signals from the load cell 158to electronics for use in generating load cell data. For example, theload cell wiring 166 may connect to electronics within the exteriorbackpiece 140 of the weighing module 104.

FIG. 6 depicts an exploded view of the fixture of FIG. 1. In this view,the accessories 106 are mounted to a front of one or more respectivemodule frontpieces 156 of weighing modules 104. For example, theaccessories 106 may include one or more unthreaded holes 162 while themodule frontpiece 156 includes one or more corresponding threaded holes164. A screw may then be inserted through the hole 162 on the accessory106 into the threaded hole 164 on the module frontpiece 156.

In the exposed portion of the weighing module 104 the engagement rails148 are visible. The circuit board 122 is depicted that is attached to alower portion of the back of the crossbar backpiece 128. The crossbarbackpiece 128 is attached to a back of a crossbar frontpiece 176. Thecrossbar 102 may be affixed to a midpoint between a front and back ofthe brackets 108.

FIG. 7 depicts a side view of the fixture of FIG. 1. A bracket 108 withthe engagement features 110 is shown. The crossbar 102 is depicted, withthe weighing module 104 mounted atop and around the crossbar 102. To therear of the crossbar 102 is the exterior backpiece 140 of the weighingmodule 104, while the module frontpiece 156 provides a cap that extendsacross a top of the weighing module 104 and down a front of the crossbar102. Attached to the module frontpiece 156 is the accessory 106.

FIG. 8 depicts a cutaway side view of the fixture of FIG. 1 at aweighing module 104. Shown is a cap 184 that may be formed from themodule frontpiece 156. The cap 184 includes a rearward rear cap wall 186that is behind the load cell 158 and has a bottom edge that is below atop edge of the exterior backpiece 140. The cap 184 also comprises a topcap wall 188 that extends from the rear cap wall 186 to a front cap wall190. The front cap wall 190 extends down from the top cap wall 188 infront of at least a portion of the crossbar 102. In cross section, thecap 184 may exhibit a “C” or “U” shape.

In the implementation depicted here, the module frontpiece 156 is shapedto form the accessory 106, with the module frontpiece 156 and theaccessory 106 formed from a single piece of material. For example, abend 192 may be formed in the module frontpiece 156 causing the materialto extend at an angle away from the rear wall 150 of the weighing module104. An accessory side brace 194 may be provided that adds structuralstrength to the interface between the accessory 106 and the front capwall 190. The rear wall 150 of the weighing module 104 may be longer ortaller than the interior front wall 196 or the front cap wall 190.

The module frontpiece 156 is attached to a first end of the load cell158. For example, one or more removeable fasteners such as screws orbolts may be used to join the module frontpiece 156 to the first end ofthe load cell 158.

The second end of the load cell 158 is in turn mounted to an interiormember of the weighing module 104, such as the upper wall 160. Forexample, one or more removeable fasteners such as screws or bolts may beused to join the second end of the load cell 158 to the upper wall 160.

The interior member of the weighing module 104 may comprise the upperwall 160, the rear wall 150, and an interior front wall 196. Together,this interior member forms a concave region or recess which fits over atleast a portion of the crossbar 102. In some implementations, theinterior member may comprise a single piece. For example, the structureof the crossbar 102 comprising the crossbar frontpiece 176, the crossbarbackpiece 128, and the circuit board 122, may be at least partiallycovered by the interior members of the weighing module 104. The crossbarbackpiece 128 may be joined to the crossbar frontpiece 176 using one ormore backpiece fasteners 204. For example, a screw, bolt, or rivet maybe used to join the crossbar backpiece 128 to the crossbar frontpiece176.

Shown within the enclosure provided by the exterior backpiece 140 of theweighing module 104 is the weighing module circuit board 200. The loadcell wiring 166 (not shown here) may connect to the weighing modulecircuit board 200. For example, the weighing module circuit board 200may be used to support circuitry that generates load cell data from theload cell 158. Continuing the example, the weighing module circuit board200 may include an analog-to-digital converter, digital signalprocessor, and so forth. The weighing module circuit board 200 mayinclude a communication interface to send the load cell data via thetraces on the circuit board 122 to another device.

A weighing module connector 202 provides electrical contacts that areconfigured to couple to corresponding electrical conductors on thecircuit board 122. For example, the weighing module connector 202 maycomprise one or more spring contacts, pogo pins, contact pads, and soforth. When the weighing module 104 is installed, the electricalcontacts in the weighing module connector 202 provide electrical contactwith corresponding electrical conductors of the circuit board 122 on thecrossbar 102. The weighing module connector 202 may be connected to oneor more devices within the weighing module 104, such as circuitry on theweighing module circuit board 200. Power and data communication may besupplied by the crossbar 102 through the electrical contacts of thecircuit board 122 as accessed by the weighing module connector 202.

Also shown is the weighing module 104 engagement rail 148 and theengagement slot stop 136. To provide additional strength and structuralstiffness, an upper bracket 198 may be incorporated into the weighingmodule 104. The upper bracket 198 may extend along at least an upperportion of the rear wall 150, the upper wall 160, and an upper portionof the front cap wall 190. For example, the upper bracket 198 may beapproximately “U” shaped in cross section. In the implementationdepicted here, the weighing module 104 may include two upper brackets198, one arranged at the left and right sides of the weighing module104, with the load cell 158 arranged in between.

The crossbar 102 may be mounted to the bracket 108. For example, thecrossbar 102 may be screwed or bolted to the left and right brackets108.

FIG. 9 depicts another implementation of a fixture in which the modulesare mounted to a front of the crossbar 102. As depicted here theweighing modules 104 may mount to a front of the crossbar 102. Forexample, the weighing modules 104 may be screwed to a front of thecrossbar 102. The accessories 106 may cantilever out, supported at anear end by the weighing modules 104 and at the far end extended towardsthe front of the fixture.

A ticket channel 218 may be provided. Printed tags may be inserted intothe ticket channel 218. For example, the tags may include informationsuch as a name of an item, item identifier, price, and so forth, for thetype of item stowed by the particular accessory 106. The ticket channel218 may be affixed to the front of the accessory 106.

Wire guides 220 may be arranged around at least a portion of a perimeterof the accessory 106. The wire guides 220 may help contain items withinthe accessory.

FIG. 10 depicts a view of a fixture in which a weighing module 104 isinserted into a channel of the crossbar 102. The weighing module 104 ismodular and repositionable along the crossbar 102. In thisimplementation, the crossbar 102 comprises a crossbar channel 228. Theweighing module 104 may be emplaced at least partially within thecrossbar channel 228. One or more crossbar engagement features 226 onthe crossbar 102 may be configured to engage a module engagement feature230 on the weighing module 104. For example, the crossbar engagementfeatures 226 may comprise teeth or ridges into which the correspondingmodule engagement feature 230 such as a pin or post may fit. In otherimplementations, the crossbar engagement features 226 may comprise tabs,slots, recesses, protrusions, and so forth. These crossbar engagementfeatures 226 are located along an upper surface or edge of at least aportion of the crossbar 102. The engagement of the module engagementfeature 230 with the crossbar engagement feature 226 may prevent theweighing module 104 from moving laterally when installed. The front ofthe crossbar 102 comprises a planar surface.

Within the crossbar channel 228 may be the circuit board 122 (not shown)or other arrangement of electrical conductors. The weighing module 104may include weighing module connectors 202 on a complementary face,configured to engage the conductors on the circuit board 122 wheninstalled in the crossbar channel 228.

A load cell 158 is mounted proximate to a top of the weighing module104. An accessory 106 may be affixed to a first end of the load cell158, while a second end of the load cell 158 is mounted to a member ofthe weighing module 104.

FIG. 11 illustrates a view of a fixture in which a weighing module 104is mounted atop the crossbar 102, according to some implementations. Inthis implementation the module frontpiece 156 of the weighing module 104extends down and then attaches to an accessory 106 such as a tray thatcantilevers away from the crossbar 102. The accessory 106 may include aticket channel 218, wire guides 220, and so forth.

FIG. 12 illustrates a view of a fixture in which a weighing module 104is inserted into crossbar channel 228 of the crossbar 102, according tosome implementations. In this illustration, the crossbar engagementfeatures 226 are located within the crossbar channel 228. The weighingmodule 104 includes one or more module engagement features 230 along anunderside of an overhang. When the weighing module 104 is inserted intothe crossbar channel 228, the module engagement features 230 sit atopthe corresponding crossbar engagement features 226. Not shown are thecircuit board 122 and the weighing module connector 202 which provideelectrically conductive pathways between the crossbar 102 and theweighing module 104.

FIGS. 13-15 illustrate views of a fixture comprising a modular weighingmodule affixed to a crossbar, and the accessories are mounted atop theweighing modules, according to some implementations.

FIG. 13 depicts a view of an underside of the fixture in which theaccessory 106 is supported by one or more weighing modules 104 arrangedunderneath. In this illustration crossbar 102 is shown with a crossbarfront cover 244 and brackets 108 on the left end of the crossbar 102 andthe right end of the crossbar 102. As described above, the brackets 108may include one or more engagement features 110. The weighing module 104includes an upper bracket 238 that engages at least a portion of thecrossbar 104.

FIG. 14 depicts a side view of the fixture of FIG. 13. The accessory 106may comprise a tray having a front lip 240 and a rear lip 242. The frontlip 240 may be shorter than the rear lip 242. The accessory 106 mountsto the load cell 158 at a point between the front and rear of the trayaccessory 106. For example, a first end of the load cell 158 is attachedto the accessory 106 while the second end of the load cell 158 isattached to the upper bracket 238. The accessory 106 extendshorizontally beyond the edges of the weighing module 104.

FIG. 15 depicts a cross section of the weighing module 104 while mountedon the crossbar 102. The accessory 106 is mounted to a first end of theload cell 158 while a second end of the load cell 158 is mounted toportion of the weighing module 104. For example, the second end of theload cell 158 may attach to the upper bracket 238, an interior wall, andso forth.

The upper bracket 238 extends from a top of the crossbar front cover 244down along at least a portion of the crossbar front cover 244. Thecrossbar 102 may include a crossbar backpiece 128 that includes crossbarengagement slots 120. One or more engagement rails 148 of the weighingmodule 104 may engage the crossbar engagement slots 120.

The crossbar backpiece 128 may include a circuit board 122 or otherelectrical contacts to which a weighing module connector 202 may comeinto content when the weighing module 104 is installed on the crossbar102.

A rear coverplate mount 252 may extend from the interior wall of theweighing module 104. A rear coverplate (not shown) may be attached tothe rear coverplate mount 252. The rear coverplate may provideprotection to the weighing module circuit board 200 or other componentswithin the weighing module 104.

The load cell 158 may be joined to the various elements as describedabove. For example, the accessory 106 may include unthreaded holes 162through which a screw is inserted and used to engage a correspondingthreaded hole 164 in the load cell 158.

FIGS. 16-20 illustrate views of a fixture that includes a crossbar withintegrated weighing modules, according to some implementations. In thisimplementation, the integrated weighing modules are affixed toparticular positions within the fixture.

FIG. 16 depicts a front view of the fixture with six accessories 106comprising bins that are arranged left to right. While six accessories106 are shown, it is understood that the fixture may include more orfewer accessories 106. The size, such as the width of the respectiveaccessories 106 may also differ within the fixture. For example, theleftmost accessory 106 may be a bin that is 2 inches wide while anadjacent accessory 106 is 6 inches wide.

In front of the accessories 106 a ticket channel 218 extends from a leftbracket 108 on a left end to a right bracket 108 on a right end of thefixture. The brackets 108 may support the ticket channel 218. A gap orother clearance between the accessories 106 and the brackets 108 and theticket channel 218 allow the individual accessories 106 to move ordeflect responsive to changes in weight of the loads placed within thebins.

FIG. 17 depicts a rear view of the fixture of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 depicts an exploded view of the fixture of FIG. 16. Theaccessories 106 include one or more holes. For example, unthreaded holes162 may be arranged within a bottom or floor of the accessory 106 tofacilitate engagement to an accessory mounting block 272. The accessorymounting block 272 may include one or more threaded holes 164 configuredto engage a screw that is inserted through the holes 162 of theaccessory 106, joining the accessory mounting block 272 to the accessory106.

The accessory mounting block 272 may include one or more unthreadedholes 162 through which fasteners such as screws may be inserted andused to engage one or more threaded holes 164 in a first end of the loadcell 158. The accessory mounting block 272 may be used to provideadditional clearance between the load cell 158 and the bottom of theaccessory 106. The accessory mounting block 272 may also facilitate theadjustment or changeout of accessories 106, acting as an intermediateelement to reduce the potential for damage to the load cell 158 duringaccessory 106 changeout. In some implementations, the accessory mountingblock 272 may be mounted to the accessory 106 between a front edge ofthe accessory 106 and a midpoint between the front edge and a rear edgeof the accessory 106.

Utilization of the accessory mounting blocks 272 facilitatesreconfiguration of the fixture. For example, in some implementations awider accessory 106 may be used. It may be desirable to have theaccessory 106 span several load cells 158 without being engaged thereto.Continuing the example, the accessory 106 may be affixed to a singleaccessory mounting block 272, and thus to a corresponding load cell 158,while the other accessory mounting blocks 272 underneath are removed. Inthis configuration, the weight on the accessory 106 is the measuredusing a single load cell 158. In another example, the accessory 106 mayspan three or more load cells. The accessory 106 may be affixed toaccessory mounting blocks 272 on each end, while the accessory mountingblock 272 in the middle is removed.

The fixture depicted includes a frame 262 that includes a rearcrosspiece 264, a middle crosspiece 266, and a front crosspiece 268.These crosspieces extend from a left bracket 108 to a right bracket 108.In some implementations, the crosspieces 264, 266, 268 and the brackets108 may comprise a single piece of material that has been formed intothe desired shape. A front stop 270 is affixed to a front of thefixture, such as via fasteners to the front crosspiece 268. A ticketchannel 218 may be joined to one or more of the front stop 270, thefront cross piece 268, and the brackets 108. In some implementations thecrosspieces may have a non-planar cross section. For example, the rearcrosspiece 264 may include one or more bends to form a “C” or “U” crosssection that increases the stiffness of the rear crosspiece 264.

An electronics cover 274 provides protection for electronics associatedwith the fixture. For example, a circuit board may includeanalog-to-digital converters that accept signals from the load cells 158and generate load cell data. The circuit board may include acommunication interface that then transmits the load cell data to anexternal device. In some implementations the electronics cover 274 mayenhance electromagnetic compatibility, such as by providing shieldingfor radiated signals.

The rear crosspiece 264 may include one or more holes or othermechanical mounting features. A second end of the load cell 158 ismounted to the rear crosspiece 264. For example, one or more removeablefasteners such as bolts or screws may be used to join the second end ofthe load cell 158 to the rear crosspiece 264.

FIG. 19 depicts a side view of the fixture of FIG. 16. A side wall ofthe accessory 106 bin is visible, along with a bracket 108 and theengagement features 110 on the bracket 108. The rear crosspiece 264,middle crosspiece 266, and the front crosspiece 268 may include bends orfeatures as shown here that extend downwards. These features mayincrease the stiffness of the crosspieces and the overall fixture.

The engagement features 110 of the bracket 108 may be configured toallow for mounting to a gondola or other support structure in twoconfigurations. In a first configuration, the bracket 108 is engagedsuch that the fixture is substantially horizontal. For example, in thisfirst configuration the bottom of the accessory 106 may be horizontal.In a second configuration, the bracket 108 is engaged such that thefixture is angled, such that the front edge of the bracket 108 is lowerthan the rear edge of the bracket 108.

The engagement features 110 may include an upper engagement tab 450. Theupper engagement tab includes two notches: a proximal notch 452 and adistal notch 454. The proximal notch 452 is closest to a body of thebracket 108 while the distal notch 452 is closer to a tip of the upperengagement tab 450. The notches 452 and 454 may be rectangular in crosssection. The notches 452 and 454 are arranged at an angle relative toone another. For example, the interior proximal sides of the notches 452and 454 may be angled with respect to one another, such that theproximal notch 452 is arranged vertically while the distal notch 454 isat an angle relative to vertical. The engagement features 110 may alsoinclude a lower engagement tab 456. The lower engagement tab 456includes a distal surface 458 and a notch 460. The distal notch 454 andthe notch 460 are aligned with one another. For example, the interiorproximal surface of the distal notch 454 and the interior proximalsurface of the notch 460 are collinear with one another. The proximalnotch 452 is aligned with the distal surface 458. For example, theinterior proximal surface of the proximal notch 452 may be aligned withthe distal surface 458.

A horizontal mount engagement line 462 is depicted, showing theapproximate position of a portion of a gondola or upright to which theengagement features 110 engage in the first configuration. When mountedin the first configuration, as shown by line 462, the proximal notch 452of the upper engagement tab 450 engages the gondola while the distalsurface 458 of the lower engagement tab 456 rests against a surface ofthe gondola.

An angled mount engagement line 464 is depicted, showing the approximateposition of a portion of a gondola or upright to which the engagementfeatures engage in the second configuration. When mounted in the secondconfiguration, as shown by line 464, the distal notch 454 of the upperengagement tab 450 engages a first portion of the gondola while thenotch 460 of the lower engagement tab 456 also engages a second portionof the gondola.

This arrangement of engagement features 110 allows for improvement inthe installation, removal, and reconfiguration of fixtures. For example,compared to conventional engagement mechanisms, the fixture as describedmay be added to or removed from between adjacent fixtures or otherstructures without the need to tilt the fixture at an extreme angle.Additionally, the fixture may be quickly reconfigured from horizontal toangled mounting. This allows for greater flexibility in reconfiguringfor stowing and presenting items.

This arrangement of engagement features 110 may be used with respect toany of the fixtures described in this disclosure, for conventionalshelves, and so forth.

FIG. 20 depicts a cross section of the fixture of FIG. 16. As shown inthis illustration, the load cell 158 may be mounted such that the firstend of the load cell 158 is joined to the accessory mounting block 272while the second end of the load cell 158 is joined to a front portionof the rear crosspiece 264. When installed, the leading or front edge ofthe load cell 158 does not reach as far as a trailing or back edge ofthe middle crosspiece 266. During use, as the load cell 158 deflectsunder changes in the load on the accessory 106, the first end of theload cell 158 may move into the space that is between rear crosspiece264 and the middle crosspiece 266.

The accessory mounting block 272 provides additional clearance orheight, providing room for the load cell 158 to deflect while providingclearance from a top surface of the electronics cover 274 and a bottomsurface of the accessory 106.

Also shown is the front stop 270 that is affixed to the front crosspiece268. Mounted to the front stop is the ticket channel 218. There is a gapor clearance between a leading edge of the accessory 106 and a trailingedge of the front stop 270. This gap allows the accessory 106 to movewith respect to the front stop 270 as the weight on the accessory 106changes.

In other implementations, other arrangements may be utilized. Forexample, the cross member between the brackets 108 may be a channelwithin which the load cells 158 are mounted.

FIG. 21 illustrates a view of a fixture with a modular weighing modulethat may be moved with respect to a crossbar, according to someimplementations. In this illustration, weighing modules 104 may beinserted into a crossbar channel 228 at a desired lateral positionbetween the left end and right end of the crossbar 102. The crossbar 102is supported by brackets 108. One or more crossbar engagement features226 extend from left to right along a rear wall of the crossbar channel228. For example, the crossbar engagement features 226 may comprisecrenellations or teeth extending upward.

The fixture may include a front stop 270 and a ticket channel 218.

The weighing module 104 is below the accessory 106 and the accessory 106is mounted to the load cell 158 of the weighing module 104. The positionof the weighing module 104 is between a front and a back of theaccessory 106. For example, the load cell 158 may attach to theaccessory 106 at a midpoint between the front and back of the accessory106.

The accessory 106 may include an accessory back wall 284 and anaccessory front lip 286. The accessory back wall 284 extends up from thesurface of the trailing edge of the accessory 106. The accessory frontlip 286 extends up from the surface of the leading edge of the accessory106.

Wire guides 220 may be used on one or more sides of the accessory 106.The accessory back wall 284 may include wire guide slots 282 that allowfor the wire guides 220 to be repositioned with respect to a particularaccessory 106. For example, a pair of wire guides 220 may be movedtogether to accommodate narrower items or may be moved apart toaccommodate wider items.

FIG. 22 illustrates a view of a fixture with modular weighing modulesaffixed to a crossbar, according to some implementations. This fixtureutilizes weighing modules 104 that are affixed to a crossbar 102 (notshown) that extends from a left bracket 108 to a right bracket 108. Incomparison, the fixture of FIG. 21 allows for the weighing modules 104to be moved laterally as designed to change the spacing between weighingmodules 104.

The accessories 106 may include an accessory back wall 284 and anaccessory front lip 286. Wire guides 220 may be installed to facilitateretention of items within respective ones of the accessories 106. Aticket channel 218 is also shown.

FIGS. 23-27 illustrate views of a crossbar with modular weighing module104 supporting a cantilevered hanger from which items may be suspended,according to some implementations.

FIG. 23 depicts a front view of the fixture showing accessories 106comprising hangers that cantilever away from the weighing module 104.The weighing modules 104 are mounted to a crossbar 102. Engagementfeatures 110 extend from a left end and a right end of the crossbar 102,allowing the crossbar to be mounted to another structure, such as theuprights of a gondola. Tag holders 300 are shown at the leading tip ofthe accessory 106 hanger. For example, the tag holder 300 may hold aprinted tag showing price, item number, and so forth.

FIG. 24 shows a rear view of the fixture of FIG. 23. A vent 306 isshown. The vent 306 provides air circulation to facilitate cooling ofelectronics within the crossbar 102.

FIG. 25 shows an exploded view of the fixture of FIG. 23. The accessory106 hanger may be affixed to the weighing module 104 by inserting one ormore prongs into corresponding holes in a front plate 314. This allowsthe weighing module 104 to easily be reconfigured to support hangers ofdifferent sizes. The front plate 314 is attached to, or part of, abracket 316 that, in turn, is affixed to a first end of the load cell158. A cover 318 of the weighing module 104 provides an exterior to theweighing module 104, protecting the interior components. A hole in thecover 318 allows the bracket 316 to exit from the cover 318 while notrestricting movement of the bracket 316. The cover 318 is mounted tostructures in the weighing module 104 other than the load cell 158.

An upper mounting bracket 320 is affixed to a rear wall of the weighingmodule 104. A lower mounting bracket 322 is affixed to the rear wall ofthe weighing module 104, below the upper mounting bracket 320.

The crossbar 102 comprises a crossbar front 310 and a crossbar backpiece312. An electronics cover 274 within the crossbar 102 may contain theelectronics associated with operation of the fixture.

FIG. 26 shows a side view of the weighing module 104 of the fixture ofFIG. 23. In this view prongs of the accessory 106 hanger are visible,mechanically engaging the accessory 106 to the front plate 314. Thefront plate 314 in turn is attached to a forward portion of the bracket316. The bracket 316 may include one or more stiffening features 330.These stiffening features 330 may include cross braces, bends, folds,and so forth. By including the stiffening features 330 in the bracket316, in this cantilevered configuration the mechanical oscillation maybe reduced. This reduction may improve the quality of the load cell dataproduced by the load cell 158.

The upper mounting bracket 320 of the weighing module 104 extends overthe top of the crossbar 102, while the lower mounting bracket 322extends back away from the weighing module 104, underneath at least aportion of the crossbar 102. The lower mounting bracket 322 may includeone or more screws 332. For example, the screw may comprise a thumbscrew332 that may be tightened to provide mechanical engagement with aportion of the underside of the crossbar 102.

FIG. 27 shows a cross section of the weighing module of FIG. 26. A frontportion of the bracket 316 joins to the front plate 314. The bracket 316extends horizontally back to the load cell 158. An upper surface of afirst end of the load cell 158 is joined to an underside of the bracket316. For example, removeable fasteners such as bolts or screws may beused. The bracket 316 may have a bend 340 that forms a lip 342. The lip342 may increase the stiffness of the bracket 316.

A lower surface of a second end of the load cell 158 is joined to anupper surface of a support bracket 344. The support bracket 344 mountsto a rear wall of the weighing module 104. The support bracket 344 mayinclude one or more stiffening features 330, such as described above.The load cell 158 may comprise a single point load cell. In theimplementation depicted here, the long axis of the load cell 158 isperpendicular to the load, in this case the accessory 106. The torsionand off-axis load introduced by this configuration are well toleratedwith the use of the single point load cell, and allow for a more compactarrangement of the weighing module 104.

In cross section, the cross section of the crossbar 102 is asymmetric.For example, the shape of the crossbar 102 as shown in this figureincludes a slope that extends downward away from the front of thecrossbar 102. The upper mounting bracket 320 is configured with acorresponding shape, allowing the weighing module 104 to hang from thecrossbar 102.

One or more upper conductors 352 may be arranged along the slope of theupper portion of the crossbar 102. Similarly, one or more lowerconductors 354 may be arranged along an underside of the crossbar 102.These conductors may be used to transfer one or more of electricalpower, signals, and so forth.

The upper mounting bracket 320 and the lower mounting bracket 322 may beseparated by a gap 350 or insulator, with each acting as an electricallyconductive pathway. When installed, the upper mounting bracket 320provides a conductive pathway from electronics in the weighing module104 to the upper conductor 352. The lower mounting bracket 322 with thescrew 332 provides a conductive pathway from the electronics to thelower conductor 354.

In other implementations, electrical connections between the weighingmodule 104 and the crossbar 102 may be provided as described above,using the circuit board 122 on the crossbar 102 and correspondingweighing module connectors 202 on the weighing module 104.

FIGS. 28-33 illustrate views of a crossbar 102 with modular weighingmodule 104 supporting a cantilevered hanger, according to someimplementations. In these implementations, the body of the weighingmodule 104 is behind the crossbar 102.

FIG. 28 shows a front view of the fixture with a crossbar 102. Aweighing module 104 has a front cover 366. The front cover 366 includesone or more hanger holes 368 in a vertical surface of the front cover366. The hanger holes 368 are configured to accept the prongs of anaccessory 106 such as a hanger. The front cover 366 of the weighingmodule 104 extends downward to cover at least a portion of a crossbarfront 364. However, in this fixture, the weighing module 104 does notengage a front vertical surface of the crossbar front 364.

FIG. 29 shows a front view of a variation of the fixture in which thecrossbar 102 includes upper engagement features 376. The upperengagement features 376 may include slots, tabs, and so forth. Wheninstalled, the weighing module 104 is configured to engage at least aportion of these upper engagement features 376.

FIG. 30 shows a rear view of the fixture of FIG. 29, showing the upperengagement features 376 and lower engagement features 378. Also shown isthe circuit board 122. A module back cover 380 of the weighing module104 is also shown, along with a top or cap of the front cover 366.

FIG. 31 shows an exploded view of the fixture of FIG. 29. The moduleback cover 380 fits behind and below the front cover 366. The frontcover 366 is affixed to a first end of the load cell 158. A second endof the load cell 158 is affixed to a horizontal portion of an internalfront piece 390 of the weighing module 104. An internal backpiece 392 inturn may be affixed to the internal front piece 390.

One or more module engagement features 394 may extend from the internalfront piece 390. For example, the module engagement features 394 maycomprise tabs that protrude from the weighing module 104 and areconfigured to engage upper engagement features 376 comprising slots.

FIG. 32 depicts a side view of the fixture of FIG. 29. The bracket 108is shown along with the front cover 366.

FIG. 33 depicts a cross section of the fixture of FIG. 29. The frontcover 366 is bent or otherwise formed to create a cap 404. A horizontalportion of the cap 404 is affixed to a first end of the load cell 158.When a load is applied to the hanger that is hanging from front cover366, the load cell 158 is deflected. In the implementation shown here,the front cover 366 comprises a single piece of material. One or morestiffening features may be included to improve the stiffness of thefront cover 366.

Compared to some of the other fixtures described herein, the front cover366 of the weighing module 104 does not come into contact with a frontvertical surface of the crossbar front 364. A gap is present between thefront vertical surface of the crossbar front 364 and the front cover366. Instead, the weighing module 104 remains engaged with the crossbar102 by way of the upper engagement features 376 and the lower engagementfeatures 378, as well as the cantilevering action provided by the loadon an accessory 106.

A second end of the load cell 158 is affixed to the horizontal portionof the internal front piece 390. As described above, the load cell 158may be affixed to other members using one or more removeable fasteners.A weighing module connector 202 may be mounted to or within the internalfront piece 390, on a front surface facing towards the crossbar 102 wheninstalled. When installed, the weighing module connector 202 comes intocontact with the electrical conductors on the circuit board 122 of thecrossbar 102.

Visible is a module engagement feature 394 that is within one of theupper engagement features 376. The crossbar 102 may include a slope 406that extends downwards from a front of the crossbar 102 to a back.

The internal backpiece 392 encloses at least some of the parts of theweighing module 104, such as the electronics 408. A bracket 410 mayextend from the internal front piece 390 and provides an attachmentpoint for the internal back piece 392.

The implementations described above are provided for illustration, andnot necessarily as limitations. For example, the fixtures may supportdifferent numbers of accessories 106, combinations of differentaccessories on the same fixture, and so forth.

FIG. 34 is a block diagram 3400 illustrating a materials handlingfacility (facility) 3402 using the system, according to someimplementations. A facility 3402 comprises one or more physicalstructures or areas within which one or more items 432(1), 432(2), . . ., 432(Q) may be held. As used in this disclosure, letters in parenthesissuch as “(Q)” indicate an integer value greater than or equal to zero.The items 432 may comprise physical goods, such as books,pharmaceuticals, repair parts, electronic gear, and so forth.

The facility 3402 may include one or more areas designated for differentfunctions with regard to inventory handling. In this illustration, thefacility 3402 includes a receiving area 3404, a storage area 3406, and atransition area 3408.

The receiving area 3404 may be configured to accept items 432, such asfrom suppliers, for intake into the facility 3402. For example, thereceiving area 3404 may include a loading dock at which trucks or otherfreight conveyances unload the items 432. In some implementations, theitems 432 may be processed, such as at the receiving area 3404, togenerate at least a portion of the item data. For example, an item 432may be imaged or otherwise scanned to develop reference images orrepresentations of the item 432 at the receiving area 3404.

The storage area 3406 is configured to store the items 432. The storagearea 3406 may be arranged in various physical configurations. In oneimplementation, the storage area 3406 may include one or more aisles3410. The aisle 3410 may be configured with, or defined by, fixtures 430such as those described above that are arranged along one or both sidesof the aisle 3410. The fixtures 430 may also be movable such that thearrangements of aisles 3410 may be reconfigurable. In someimplementations, the fixtures 430 may be configured to moveindependently of an outside operator. For example, the fixtures 430 maycomprise a rack with a power source and a motor, operable by a computingdevice to allow the rack to move from one location within the facility3402 to another.

One or more users 434(1), 434(2), . . . , 434(U) and totes 436(1),436(2), . . . , 436(T) or other material handling apparatus may movewithin the facility 3402. For example, the user 434 may move aboutwithin the facility 3402 to pick or place the items 432 in variousfixtures 430, placing them on the tote 436 for ease of transport. Thetote 436 is configured to carry or otherwise transport one or more items432. For example, the tote 436 may include a basket, cart, bag, bin, andso forth. In other implementations, other material handling apparatusessuch as robots, forklifts, cranes, aerial drones, and so forth, may moveabout the facility 3402 picking, placing, or otherwise moving the items432. For example, a robot may pick an item 432 from a first fixture430(1) and move the item 432 to a second fixture 430(2).

One or more sensors 438 may be configured to acquire information in thefacility 3402. The sensors 438 may include, but are not limited to,cameras 438(1), depth sensors 438(2), load cells 158, optical sensorarrays 438(13), proximity sensors 438(6), and so forth. The sensors 438may be stationary or mobile, relative to the facility 3402. For example,as described above the shelves may contain load cells 158 to generateweight signals, cameras 438(1) to acquire images of picking or placementof items 432 on shelves, optical sensor arrays 438(13) to detect shadowsof the user's 434 hands at the fixtures 430, and so forth. In anotherexample, the facility 3402 may include a camera 438(1) to obtain imagesof the user 434 or other objects in the facility 3402. The sensors 438are discussed in more detail below with regard to FIG. 35.

While the storage area 3406 is depicted as having one or more aisles3410, fixtures 430 storing the items 432, sensors 438, and so forth, itis understood that the receiving area 3404, the transition area 3408, orother areas of the facility 3402 may be similarly equipped. Furthermore,the arrangement of the various areas within the facility 3402 isdepicted functionally rather than schematically. For example, in someimplementations, multiple different receiving areas 3404, storage areas3406, and transition areas 3408 may be interspersed rather thansegregated in the facility 3402.

The facility 3402 may include, or be coupled to, an inventory managementsystem 440. The inventory management system 440 is configured tointeract with users 434 or devices such as sensors 438, robots, materialhandling equipment, computing devices, and so forth, in one or more ofthe receiving area 3404, the storage area 3406, or the transition area3408.

During operation of the facility 3402, the sensors 438 may be configuredto provide sensor data, or information based on the sensor data, to theinventory management system 440. The sensor data may include image data,non-image data, weight data obtained from load cells 158, and so forth.The sensors 438 are described in more detail below with regard to FIG.35.

The inventory management system 440 or other systems may use the sensordata to track the location of objects within the facility 3402, movementof the objects, or provide other functionality. Objects may include, butare not limited to, items 432, users 434, totes 436, and so forth. Forexample, a series of images acquired by the camera 438(1) may indicateremoval by the user 434 of an item 432 from a particular location on thefixture 430 and placement of the item 432 on or at least partiallywithin the tote 436.

The facility 3402 may be configured to receive different kinds of items432 from various suppliers and to store them until a customer orders orretrieves one or more of the items 432. A general flow of items 432through the facility 3402 is indicated by the arrows of FIG. 34.Specifically, as illustrated in this example, items 432 may be receivedfrom one or more suppliers, such as manufacturers, distributors,wholesalers, and so forth, at the receiving area 3404. In variousimplementations, the items 432 may include merchandise, commodities,perishables, or any suitable type of item 432, depending on the natureof the enterprise that operates the facility 3402.

Upon being received from a supplier at the receiving area 3404, theitems 432 may be prepared for storage in the storage area 3406. Forexample, in some implementations, items 432 may be unpacked or otherwiserearranged. The inventory management system 440 may include one or moresoftware applications executing on a computer system to provideinventory management functions. These inventory management functions mayinclude maintaining information indicative of the type, quantity,condition, cost, location, weight, or any other suitable parameters withrespect to the items 432. The items 432 may be stocked, managed, ordispensed in terms of countable units, individual units, or multipleunits, such as packages, cartons, crates, pallets, or other suitableaggregations. Alternatively, some items 432, such as bulk products,commodities, and so forth, may be stored in continuous or arbitrarilydivisible amounts that may not be inherently organized into countableunits. Such items 432 may be managed in terms of a measurable quantitysuch as units of length, area, volume, weight, time, duration, or otherdimensional properties characterized by units of measurement. Generallyspeaking, a quantity of an item 432 may refer to either a countablenumber of individual or aggregate units of an item 432 or a measurableamount of an item 432, as appropriate.

After arriving through the receiving area 3404, items 432 may be storedwithin the storage area 3406. In some implementations, like items 432may be stored or displayed together in the fixtures 430 such as onaccessories 106. In this implementation, all items 432 of a given kindare stored in one fixture 430. In other implementations, like items 432may be stored in different fixtures 430. For example, to optimizeretrieval of certain items 432 having frequent turnover within a largephysical facility 3402, those items 432 may be stored in severaldifferent fixtures 430 to reduce congestion that might occur at a singlefixture 430.

When a customer order specifying one or more items 432 is received, oras a user 434 progresses through the facility 3402, the correspondingitems 432 may be selected or “picked” from the fixtures 430 containingthose items 432. In various implementations, item picking may range frommanual to completely automated picking. For example, in oneimplementation, a user 434 may have a list of items 432 they desire andmay progress through the facility 3402 picking items 432 from fixtures430 within the storage area 3406 and placing those items 432 into a tote436. In other implementations, employees of the facility 3402 may pickitems 432 using written or electronic pick lists derived from customerorders. These picked items 432 may be placed into the tote 436 as theemployee progresses through the facility 3402.

After items 432 have been picked, the items 432 may be processed at atransition area 3408. The transition area 3408 may be any designatedarea within the facility 3402 where items 432 are transitioned from onelocation to another or from one entity to another. For example, thetransition area 3408 may be a packing station within the facility 3402.When the item 432 arrives at the transition area 3408, the item 432 maybe transitioned from the storage area 3406 to the packing station.Information about the transition may be maintained by the inventorymanagement system 440.

In another example, if the items 432 are departing the facility 3402, alist of the items 432 may be obtained and used by the inventorymanagement system 440 to transition responsibility for, or custody of,the items 432 from the facility 3402 to another entity. For example, acarrier may accept the items 432 for transport with that carrieraccepting responsibility for the items 432 indicated in the list. Inanother example, a user 434 may purchase or rent the items 432 andremove the items 432 from the facility 3402. During use of the facility3402, the user 434 may move about the facility 3402 to perform varioustasks, such as picking or placing the items 432 in the fixtures 430.

To facilitate operation of the facility 3402, the inventory managementsystem 440 is configured to use the sensor data including the weightdata and may also use other information such as item data, physicallayout data, non-weight data, and so forth, to generate interaction data442.

The interaction data 442 may provide information about an interaction,such as a pick of an item 432 from the fixture 430, a place of an item432 to the fixture 430, a touch made to an item 432 at the fixture 430,a gesture associated with an item 432 at the fixture 430, and so forth.The interaction data 442 may include one or more of the type ofinteraction, interaction location identifier indicative of where fromthe fixture 430 the interaction took place, item identifier, quantitychange to the item 432, user identifier, and so forth. The interactiondata 442 may then be used to further update the item data. For example,the quantity of items 432 on hand at a particular accessory 106 may bechanged based on an interaction that picks or places one or more items432.

The inventory management system 440 may combine or otherwise utilizedata from different sensors 438 of different types, including the loadcells 158. For example, weight data obtained from load cells 158 at thefixture 430 may be used in conjunction with non-weight data such as theimage data to determine the interaction data 442.

FIG. 35 is a block diagram 3500 illustrating additional details of thefacility 3402, according to some implementations. The facility 3402 maybe connected to one or more networks 3502, which in turn connect to oneor more servers 3504. The network 3502 may include private networks suchas an institutional or personal intranet, public networks such as theInternet, or a combination thereof. The network 3502 may utilize wiredtechnologies (e.g., wires, fiber optic cables, and so forth), wirelesstechnologies (e.g., radio frequency, infrared, acoustic, optical, and soforth), or other connection technologies. The network 3502 isrepresentative of any type of communication network, including one ormore of data networks or voice networks.

The servers 3504 may be configured to execute one or more modules orsoftware applications associated with the inventory management system440 or other systems. While the servers 3504 are illustrated as being ina location outside of the facility 3402, in other implementations, atleast a portion of the servers 3504 may be located at the facility 3402.The servers 3504 are discussed in more detail below with regard to FIG.36.

The users 434, the totes 436, or other objects in the facility 3402 maybe equipped with one or more tags 3506. The tags 3506 may be configuredto emit a signal 3508. In one implementation, the tag 3506 may be aradio frequency identification (RFID) tag 3506 configured to emit a RFsignal 3508 upon activation by an external signal. For example, theexternal signal may comprise a radio frequency signal or a magneticfield configured to energize or activate the RFID tag 3506. In anotherimplementation, the tag 3506 may comprise a transmitter and a powersource configured to power the transmitter. For example, the tag 3506may comprise a Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) transmitter and battery. Inother implementations, the tag 3506 may use other techniques to indicatepresence of the tag 3506. For example, an acoustic tag 3506 may beconfigured to generate an ultrasonic signal 3508, which is detected bycorresponding acoustic receivers. In yet another implementation, the tag3506 may be configured to emit an optical signal 3508.

The inventory management system 440 may be configured to use the tags3506 for one or more of identification of the object, determining alocation of the object, and so forth. For example, the users 434 maywear tags 3506, the totes 436 may have tags 3506 affixed, and so forth,which may be read and, based at least in part on signal strength, usedto determine identity and location.

Generally, the inventory management system 440 or other systemsassociated with the facility 3402 may include any number and combinationof input components, output components, and servers 3504.

The one or more sensors 438 (including the load cells 158) may bearranged at one or more locations within the facility 3402. For example,the sensors 438 may be mounted on or within a floor, wall, at a ceiling,at a fixture 430, on a tote 436, may be carried or worn by a user 434,and so forth.

The sensors 438 may include one or more load cells 158. The one or moreload cells 158 are configured to measure the weight of a load, such asthe item 432, the tote 436, or other objects. The load cells 158 may beconfigured to measure the weight of the load at one or more of thefixtures 430, the tote 436, on the floor of the facility 3402, and soforth. For example, the fixture 430 may include a plurality ofaccessories 106, with one or more load cells 158 beneath each accessory106 to provide weight signals about an individual partitioned area orplatform. The load cells 158 may include one or more sensing mechanismsto determine the weight of a load. These sensing mechanisms may includepiezoresistive devices, piezoelectric devices, capacitive devices,electromagnetic devices, optical devices, potentiometric devices,microelectromechanical devices, and so forth. The sensing mechanisms ofload cells 158 may operate as transducers that generate one or moresignals based on an applied force, such as that of the load due togravity. For example, the load cell 158 may comprise a strain gauge anda structural member that deforms slightly when weight is applied. Thestrain gauge may be bonded to or otherwise affixed to the structuralmember. As weight is applied, the structural member is deformed, whichalso results in deformation of the strain gauge. By measuring a changein the electrical characteristic of the strain gauge, such ascapacitance or resistance, the weight may be determined. For example, alookup table may relate a particular electrical resistance value to aparticular weight. In another example, the load cell 158 may comprise aforce sensing resistor (FSR). The FSR may comprise a resilient materialthat changes one or more electrical characteristics when compressed. Forexample, the electrical resistance of a particular portion of the FSRmay decrease as the particular portion is compressed. The inventorymanagement system 440 may use the data acquired by the load cells 158 toidentify an object, determine a change in the quantity of objects,determine a location of an object, maintain shipping records, and soforth.

The sensors 438 may include one or more cameras 438(1) or other imagingsensors. The one or more cameras 438(1) may include imaging sensorsconfigured to acquire images of a scene. The cameras 438(1) areconfigured to detect light in one or more wavelengths including, but notlimited to, terahertz, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, and so forth. Theone or more cameras 438(1) may comprise charge coupled devices (CCD),complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices, microbolometers,and so forth. The inventory management system 440 may use image dataacquired by the one or more cameras 438(1) during operation of thefacility 3402. For example, the inventory management system 440 mayidentify items 432, users 434, totes 436, and so forth, based at leastin part on their appearance within the image data acquired by the one ormore cameras 438(1). The one or more cameras 438(1) may be mounted invarious locations within the facility 3402. For example, a camera 438(1)may be mounted overhead, on fixtures 430, may be worn or carried byusers 434, may be affixed to totes 436, and so forth.

One or more depth sensors 438(2) may also be included in the sensors438. The depth sensors 438(2) are configured to acquire spatial orthree-dimensional (3D) data, such as depth information, about objectswithin a field of view. The depth sensors 438(2) may include rangecameras, lidar systems, sonar systems, radar systems, structured lightsystems, stereo vision systems, optical interferometry systems, and soforth. The inventory management system 440 may use the 3D data acquiredby the depth sensors 438(2) to identify objects, determine a location ofan object in 3D real space, and so forth.

One or more buttons 438(3) may be configured to accept input from theuser 434. The buttons 438(3) may comprise mechanical, capacitive,optical, or other mechanisms. For example, the buttons 438(3) maycomprise mechanical switches configured to accept an applied force froma touch of the user 434 to generate an input signal. The inventorymanagement system 440 may use data from the buttons 438(3) to receiveinformation from the user 434. For example, the tote 436 may beconfigured with a button 438(3) to accept input from the user 434 andsend information indicative of the input to the inventory managementsystem 440.

The sensors 438 may include one or more touch sensors 438(4). The touchsensors 438(4) may use resistive, capacitive, surface capacitance,projected capacitance, mutual capacitance, optical, InterpolatingForce-Sensitive Resistance (IFSR), or other mechanisms to determine theposition of a touch or near-touch. For example, the IFSR may comprise amaterial configured to change electrical resistance responsive to anapplied force. The location within the material of that change inelectrical resistance may indicate the position of the touch. Theinventory management system 440 may use data from the touch sensors438(4) to receive information from the user 434. For example, the touchsensor 438(4) may be integrated with the tote 436 to provide atouchscreen with which the user 434 may select from a menu one or moreparticular items 432 for picking, enter a manual count of items 432 at afixture 430, and so forth.

One or more microphones 438(5) may be configured to acquire informationindicative of sound present in the environment. In some implementations,arrays of microphones 438(5) may be used. These arrays may implementbeamforming techniques to provide for directionality of gain. Theinventory management system 440 may use the one or more microphones438(5) to acquire information from acoustic tags 3506, accept voiceinput from the users 434, determine ambient noise level, and so forth.

The sensors 438 may include proximity sensors 438(6) used to determinepresence of an object, such as the user 434, the tote 436, and so forth.The proximity sensors 438(6) may use optical, electrical, ultrasonic,electromagnetic, or other techniques to determine a presence of anobject. In some implementations, the proximity sensors 438(6) may use anoptical emitter and an optical detector to determine proximity. Forexample, an optical emitter may emit light, a portion of which may thenbe reflected by the object back to the optical detector to provide anindication that the object is proximate to the proximity sensor 438(6).In other implementations, the proximity sensors 438(6) may comprise acapacitive proximity sensor 438(6) configured to provide an electricalfield and determine a change in electrical capacitance due to thepresence or absence of an object within the electrical field.

The proximity sensors 438(6) may be configured to provide sensor dataindicative of one or more of a presence or absence of an object, adistance to the object, or characteristics of the object. An opticalproximity sensor 438(6) may use time-of-flight (ToF), structured light,interferometry, or other techniques to generate the distance data. Forexample, ToF determines a propagation time (or “round-trip” time) of apulse of emitted light from an optical emitter or illuminator that isreflected or otherwise returned to an optical detector. By dividing thepropagation time in half and multiplying the result by the speed oflight in air, the distance to an object may be determined. In anotherimplementation, a structured light pattern may be provided by theoptical emitter. A portion of the structured light pattern may then bedetected on the object using a sensor 438 such as a camera 438(1). Basedon an apparent distance between the features of the structured lightpattern, the distance to the object may be calculated. Other techniquesmay also be used to determine distance to the object. In anotherexample, the color of the reflected light may be used to characterizethe object, such as skin, clothing, tote 436, and so forth.

The sensors 438 may include one or more optical sensors 438(7). Theoptical sensors 438(7) may be configured to provide data indicative ofone or more of color or intensity of light impinging thereupon. Forexample, the optical sensor 438(7) may comprise a photodiode andassociated circuitry configured to generate a signal or data indicativeof an incident flux of photons. As described below, the optical sensorarray 438(13) may comprise a plurality of the optical sensors 438(7).For example, the optical sensor array 438(13) may comprise an array ofambient light sensors such as the ISL76683 as provided by IntersilCorporation of Milpitas, Calif., USA, or the MAX44009 as provided byMaxim Integrated of San Jose, Calif., USA. In other implementations,other optical sensors 438(7) may be used. The optical sensors 438(7) maybe sensitive to one or more of infrared light, visible light, orultraviolet light. For example, the optical sensors 438(7) may besensitive to infrared light, and infrared light sources such as LEDs mayprovide illumination.

The optical sensors 438(7) may include photodiodes, photoresistors,photovoltaic cells, quantum dot photoconductors, bolometers,pyroelectric infrared detectors, and so forth. For example, the opticalsensor 438(7) may use germanium photodiodes to detect infrared light.

One or more radio frequency identification (RFID) readers 438(8), nearfield communication (NFC) systems, and so forth, may be included assensors 438. For example, the RFID readers 438(8) may be configured toread the RF tags 3506. Information acquired by the RFID reader 438(8)may be used by the inventory management system 440 to identify an objectassociated with the RF tag 3506 such as the item 432, the user 434, thetote 436, and so forth. For example, based on information from the RFIDreaders 438(8) detecting the RF tag 3506 at different times and RFIDreaders 438(8) having different locations in the facility 3402, avelocity of the RF tag 3506 may be determined.

One or more RF receivers 438(9) may also be included as sensors 438. Insome implementations, the RF receivers 438(9) may be part of transceiverassemblies. The RF receivers 438(9) may be configured to acquire RFsignals 3508 associated with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, 2G, 3G, 4G, LTE,or other wireless data transmission technologies. In someimplementations, the RF receivers 438(9) may detect signals transmittedat frequencies such as below 15 MHz. The RF receivers 438(9) may provideinformation associated with data transmitted via radio frequencies,signal strength of RF signals 3508, and so forth. For example,information from the RF receivers 438(9) may be used by the inventorymanagement system 440 to determine a location of an RF source, such as acommunication interface onboard the tote 436.

The sensors 438 may include one or more accelerometers 438(10), whichmay be worn or carried by the user 434, mounted to the tote 436, and soforth. The accelerometers 438(10) may provide information such as thedirection and magnitude of an imposed acceleration. Data such as rate ofacceleration, determination of changes in direction, speed, and soforth, may be determined using the accelerometers 438(10).

A gyroscope 438(11) may provide information indicative of rotation of anobject affixed thereto. For example, the tote 436 or other objects maybe equipped with a gyroscope 438(11) to provide data indicative of achange in orientation of the object.

A magnetometer 438(12) may be used to determine an orientation bymeasuring ambient magnetic fields, such as the terrestrial magneticfield. The magnetometer 438(12) may be worn or carried by the user 434,mounted to the tote 436, and so forth. For example, the magnetometer438(12) mounted to the tote 436 may act as a compass and provideinformation indicative of which direction the tote 436 is oriented.

An optical sensor array 438(13) may comprise one or optical sensors438(7). The optical sensors 438(7) may be arranged in a regular,repeating, or periodic two-dimensional arrangement such as a grid. Theoptical sensor array 438(13) may generate image data. For example, theoptical sensor array 438(13) may be arranged within or below a fixture430 and obtain information about shadows of items 432, hand of the user434, and so forth.

The sensors 438 may include other sensors 438(S) as well. For example,the other sensors 438(S) may include light curtains, ultrasonicrangefinders, thermometers, barometric sensors, hygrometers, and soforth. For example, the inventory management system 440 may useinformation acquired from thermometers and hygrometers in the facility3402 to direct the user 434 to check on delicate items 432 stored in aparticular fixture 430, which is overheating, too dry, too damp, and soforth.

In one implementation, a light curtain may utilize a linear array oflight emitters and a corresponding linear array of light detectors. Forexample, the light emitters may comprise a line of infrared lightemitting diodes (LEDs) or vertical cavity surface emitting lasers(VCSELs) that are arranged above a top shelf in front of the fixture430, while the light detectors comprise a line of photodiodes sensitiveto infrared light arranged below the light emitters. The light emittersproduce a “lightplane” or sheet of infrared light that is then detectedby the light detectors. An object passing through the lightplane maydecrease the amount of light falling upon the light detectors. Forexample, the user's 434 hand would prevent at least some of the lightfrom light emitters from reaching a corresponding light detector. As aresult, a position along the linear array of the object may bedetermined that is indicative of a touchpoint. This position may beexpressed as touchpoint data, with the touchpoint being indicative ofthe intersection between the hand of the user 434 and the sheet ofinfrared light. In some implementations, a pair of light curtains may bearranged at right angles relative to one another to providetwo-dimensional touchpoint data indicative of a position of touch in aplane. Input from the light curtain, such as indicating occlusion from ahand of a user 434 may be used to trigger acquisition or selection ofimage data for processing by an analysis module.

The sensors 438 may also include an instrumented auto-facing unit (AFU)438(14). The instrumented AFU 438(14) may comprise a position sensorconfigured to provide data indicative of displacement of a pusher. As anitem 432 is removed from the instrumented AFU 438(14), the pusher moves,such as under the influence of a spring, and pushes the remaining items432 in the instrumented AFU 438(14) to the front of the fixture 430. Byusing data from the position sensor, and given item data such as a depthof an individual item 432, a count may be determined, based on a changein position data. For example, if each item 432 is 1 inch deep, and theposition data indicates a change of 4 inches, the quantity held by theinstrumented AFU 438(14) may have changed by 4 items 432. This countinformation may be used to confirm or provide a cross check for a countobtained by other means, such as analysis of the image data.

In some implementations, the camera 438(1) or other sensors 438(S) mayinclude hardware processors, memory, and other elements configured toperform various functions. For example, the camera 438(1) may beconfigured to generate image data, send the image data to another devicesuch as the server 3504, and so forth.

The facility 3402 may include one or more access points 3510 configuredto establish one or more wireless networks. The access points 3510 mayuse Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth, or other technologies to establish wirelesscommunications between a device and the network 3502. The wirelessnetworks allow the devices to communicate with one or more of thesensors 438, the inventory management system 440, the optical sensorarrays 438(13), the tag 3506, a communication device of the tote 436, orother devices.

Output devices 3512 may also be provided in the facility 3402. Theoutput devices 3512 are configured to generate signals, which may beperceived by the user 434 or detected by the sensors 438. In someimplementations, the output devices 3512 may be used to provideillumination of the optical sensor array 438(13).

Haptic output devices 3512(1) are configured to provide a signal thatresults in a tactile sensation to the user 434. The haptic outputdevices 3512(1) may use one or more mechanisms such as electricalstimulation or mechanical displacement to provide the signal. Forexample, the haptic output devices 3512(1) may be configured to generatea modulated electrical signal, which produces an apparent tactilesensation in one or more fingers of the user 434. In another example,the haptic output devices 3512(1) may comprise piezoelectric or rotarymotor devices configured to provide a vibration, which may be felt bythe user 434.

One or more audio output devices 3512(2) may be configured to provideacoustic output. The acoustic output includes one or more of infrasonicsound, audible sound, or ultrasonic sound. The audio output devices3512(2) may use one or more mechanisms to generate the acoustic output.These mechanisms may include, but are not limited to, the following:voice coils, piezoelectric elements, magnetostrictive elements,electrostatic elements, and so forth. For example, a piezoelectricbuzzer or a speaker may be used to provide acoustic output.

The display devices 3512(3) may be configured to provide output, whichmay be seen by the user 434 or detected by a light-sensitive sensor suchas a camera 438(1) or an optical sensor 438(7). In some implementations,the display devices 3512(3) may be configured to produce output in oneor more of infrared, visible, or ultraviolet light. The output may bemonochrome or in color. The display devices 3512(3) may be one or moreof emissive, reflective, microelectromechanical, and so forth. Anemissive display device 3512(3), such as using LEDs, is configured toemit light during operation. In comparison, a reflective display device3512(3), such as using an electrophoretic element, relies on ambientlight to present an image. Backlights or front lights may be used toilluminate non-emissive display devices 3512(3) to provide visibility ofthe output in conditions where the ambient light levels are low.

The display devices 3512(3) may be located at various points within thefacility 3402. For example, the addressable displays may be located onfixtures 430, totes 436, on the floor of the facility 3402, and soforth.

Other output devices 3512(P) may also be present. For example, the otheroutput devices 3512(P) may include scent/odor dispensers, documentprinters, 3D printers or fabrication equipment, and so forth.

FIG. 36 illustrates a block diagram 3600 of a server 3504 configured tosupport operation of the facility 3402, according to someimplementations. The server 3504 may be physically present at thefacility 3402, may be accessible by the network 3502, or a combinationof both. The server 3504 does not require end-user knowledge of thephysical location and configuration of the system that delivers theservices. Common expressions associated with the server 3504 may include“on-demand computing”, “software as a service (SaaS)”, “platformcomputing”, “network-accessible platform”, “cloud services”, “datacenters”, and so forth. Services provided by the server 3504 may bedistributed across one or more physical or virtual devices.

One or more power supplies 3602 may be configured to provide electricalpower suitable for operating the components in the server 3504. The oneor more power supplies 3602 may comprise batteries, capacitors, fuelcells, photovoltaic cells, wireless power receivers, conductivecouplings suitable for attachment to an external power source such asprovided by an electric utility, and so forth. The server 3504 mayinclude one or more hardware processors 3604 (processors) configured toexecute one or more stored instructions. The processors 3604 maycomprise one or more cores. One or more clocks 3606 may provideinformation indicative of date, time, ticks, and so forth. For example,the processor 3604 may use data from the clock 3606 to associate aparticular interaction with a particular point in time.

The server 3504 may include one or more communication interfaces 3608such as input/output (I/O) interfaces 3610, network interfaces 3612, andso forth. The communication interfaces 3608 enable the server 3504, orcomponents thereof, to communicate with other devices or components. Thecommunication interfaces 3608 may include one or more I/O interfaces3610. The I/O interfaces 3610 may comprise Inter-Integrated Circuit(I2C), Serial Peripheral Interface bus (SPI), Universal Serial Bus (USB)as promulgated by the USB Implementers Forum, RS-232, and so forth.

The I/O interface(s) 3610 may couple to one or more I/O devices 3614.The I/O devices 3614 may include input devices such as one or more of asensor 438, keyboard, mouse, scanner, and so forth. The I/O devices 3614may also include output devices 3512 such as one or more of a displaydevice 3512(3), printer, audio speakers, and so forth. In someembodiments, the I/O devices 3614 may be physically incorporated withthe server 3504 or may be externally placed.

The network interfaces 3612 may be configured to provide communicationsbetween the server 3504 and other devices, such as the totes 436,routers, access points 3510, and so forth. The network interfaces 3612may include devices configured to couple to personal area networks(PANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks(WLANS), wide area networks (WANs), and so forth. For example, thenetwork interfaces 3612 may include devices compatible with Ethernet,Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, and so forth.

The server 3504 may also include one or more busses or other internalcommunications hardware or software that allow for the transfer of databetween the various modules and components of the server 3504.

As shown in FIG. 36, the server 3504 includes one or more memories 3616.The memory 3616 may comprise one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media (CRSM). The CRSM may be any one or moreof an electronic storage medium, a magnetic storage medium, an opticalstorage medium, a quantum storage medium, a mechanical computer storagemedium, and so forth. The memory 3616 provides storage ofcomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, andother data for the operation of the server 3504. A few examplefunctional modules are shown stored in the memory 3616, although thesame functionality may alternatively be implemented in hardware,firmware, or as a system on a chip (SoC).

The memory 3616 may include at least one operating system (OS) module3618. The OS module 3618 is configured to manage hardware resourcedevices such as the I/O interfaces 3610, the I/O devices 3614, thecommunication interfaces 3608, and provide various services toapplications or modules executing on the processors 3604. The OS module3618 may implement a variant of the FreeBSD operating system aspromulgated by the FreeBSD Project; other UNIX or UNIX-like variants; avariation of the Linux operating system as promulgated by LinusTorvalds; the Windows operating system from Microsoft Corporation ofRedmond, Wash., USA; and so forth.

Also stored in the memory 3616 may be a data store 3620 and one or moreof the following modules. These modules may be executed as foregroundapplications, background tasks, daemons, and so forth. The data store3620 may use a flat file, database, linked list, tree, executable code,script, or other data structure to store information. In someimplementations, the data store 3620 or a portion of the data store 3620may be distributed across one or more other devices including theservers 3504, network attached storage devices, and so forth.

A communication module 3622 may be configured to establishcommunications with one or more of the totes 436, sensors 438, displaydevices 3512(3), other servers 3504, or other devices. Thecommunications may be authenticated, encrypted, and so forth.

The memory 3616 may store an inventory management module 3624. Theinventory management module 3624 is configured to provide the inventoryfunctions as described herein with regard to the inventory managementsystem 440. For example, the inventory management module 3624 may trackitems 432 between different fixtures 430, to and from the totes 436, andso forth. The inventory management module 3624 may access sensor data3630. The sensor data 3630 may include the weight data 3632, non-weightdata 3634, such as obtained from other sensors 438 such as cameras438(1), depth sensors 438(2), and so forth.

The inventory management module 3624 may include one or more of a dataacquisition module 3626 and an analysis module 3628. The dataacquisition module 3626 may be configured to acquire and accessinformation associated with operation of the facility 3402. For example,the data acquisition module 3626 may be configured to acquire the sensordata 3630, such as the weight data 3632, the non-weight data 3634 suchas the image data, and so forth.

The analysis module 3628 is configured to process other sensor data 3630to determine interaction data 442. The sensor data 3630 may includeweight data 3632 obtained from the load cells 158 and non-weight data3634 obtained from other sensors, such as image data from cameras438(1), depth sensor data from the depth sensors 438(2), data frominstrumented auto facing units 438(14) and so forth.

Threshold data 3636 may specify one or more thresholds used by theanalysis module 3628 to determine changes in a quantity of items 432 ata particular accessory 106. For example, the threshold data 3636 mayspecify a minimum variance in weight that is indicative of a change inquantity of items 432 at a particular accessory 106.

The inventory management system 440 may maintain and utilize item data3638 and physical layout data 3640. The item data 3638 comprisesinformation about a particular type of item 432. The item data 3638 mayinclude information indicative of a weight of a single item 432, or apackage, kit, or other grouping considered to be a single item 432. Theitem data 3638 may include other characteristics of that type of item432 such as: physical dimensions, characteristics about how the item 432appears, and so forth. For example, the item data 3638 may comprise aplurality of local descriptor values generated by feature extractionalgorithms, parameters for classifiers, neural network configurationdata, and so forth, that characterizes the appearance of arepresentative one or more of the item 432. The item data 3638 mayindicate the types and quantities of items 432 that are expected to bestored at that particular fixture 430, such as in a particular accessory106 on a fixture 430. The item data 3638 may include other data. Forexample, the other data may comprise weight distribution of the item432, point cloud data for the item 432, and so forth.

The physical layout data 3640 may provide information indicative ofwhere fixtures 430 are in the facility, location of sensors, informationabout sensor orientation and field of view (where applicable), and soforth. For example, the physical layout data 3640 may compriseinformation representative of a map or floor plan of the facility withrelative positions of fixtures 430, planogram data indicative of howtypes of items 432 are to be arranged at the fixtures 430, and so forth.In another example, the physical layout data 3640 may compriseinformation indicating the particular placement of load cells 158 on aparticular fixture 430.

The interaction data 442 provides information about an interaction, suchas a pick of an item 432 from the fixture 430, a place of an item 432 tothe fixture 430, a touch made to an item 432 at the fixture 430, agesture associated with an item 432 at the fixture 430, and so forth.The interaction data 442 may include one or more of the type ofinteraction, interaction location identifier indicative of the fixture430 at which the interaction took place, an item identifier indicativeof a type of item 432 or particular item 432, quantity change to theitem 432, user identifier, and so forth. The interaction data 442 maythen be used to further update the item data 3638. For example, thequantity of items 432 on hand at a particular partitioned area on thefixture 430 may be changed based on an interaction that picks or placesone or more items 432.

Processing of image data may be performed by an image processing moduleimplementing, at least in part, one or more of the following tools ortechniques. In one implementation, processing of the image data may beperformed, at least in part, using one or more tools available in theOpenCV library as developed by Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif.,USA; Willow Garage of Menlo Park, Calif., USA; and Itseez of NizhnyNovgorod, Russia, with information available at www.opencv.org. Inanother implementation, functions available in the OKAO machine visionlibrary as promulgated by Omron Corporation of Kyoto, Japan, may be usedto process the image data. In still another implementation, functionssuch as those in the Machine Vision Toolbox for Matlab (MVTB) availableusing MATLAB as developed by Math Works, Inc. of Natick, Mass., USA, maybe utilized.

Techniques such as artificial neural networks (ANNs), active appearancemodels (AAMs), active shape models (ASMs), principal component analysis(PCA), cascade classifiers, and so forth, may also be used to processthe sensor data 3630 or other data. For example, the ANN may be trainedusing a supervised learning algorithm such that object identifiers areassociated with images of particular objects within training imagesprovided to the ANN. Once trained, the ANN may be provided with thesensor data 3630 to determine of similarity between two or more images,provide object identification, and so forth.

Other modules 3642 may also be present in the memory 3616 as well asother data 3644 in the data store 3620. For example, the other modules3642 may include an accounting module while the other data 3644 mayinclude billing data. The accounting module may be configured to assesscharges to an account associated with a particular user 434 or otherentities, while the billing data may include information such as paymentaccount numbers.

The processes discussed herein may be implemented in hardware, software,or a combination thereof. In the context of software, the describedoperations represent computer-executable instructions stored on one ormore non-transitory computer-readable storage media that, when executedby one or more processors, perform the recited operations. Generally,computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, and the like that perform particularfunctions or implement particular abstract data types. Those havingordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that certain steps oroperations illustrated in the figures above may be eliminated, combined,or performed in an alternate order. Any steps or operations may beperformed serially or in parallel. Furthermore, the order in which theoperations are described is not intended to be construed as alimitation.

Embodiments may be provided as a software program or computer programproduct including a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumhaving stored thereon instructions (in compressed or uncompressed form)that may be used to program a computer (or other electronic device) toperform processes or methods described herein. The computer-readablestorage medium may be one or more of an electronic storage medium, amagnetic storage medium, an optical storage medium, a quantum storagemedium, and so forth. For example, the computer-readable storage mediamay include, but is not limited to, hard drives, floppy diskettes,optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs),erasable programmable ROMs (EPROMs), electrically erasable programmableROMs (EEPROMs), flash memory, magnetic or optical cards, solid-statememory devices, or other types of physical media suitable for storingelectronic instructions. Further, embodiments may also be provided as acomputer program product including a transitory machine-readable signal(in compressed or uncompressed form). Examples of transitorymachine-readable signals, whether modulated using a carrier orunmodulated, include, but are not limited to, signals that a computersystem or machine hosting or running a computer program can beconfigured to access, including signals transferred by one or morenetworks. For example, the transitory machine-readable signal maycomprise transmission of software by the Internet.

Separate instances of these programs can be executed on or distributedacross any number of separate computer systems. Thus, although certainsteps have been described as being performed by certain devices,software programs, processes, or entities, this need not be the case,and a variety of alternative implementations will be understood by thosehaving ordinary skill in the art.

Additionally, those having ordinary skill in the art will readilyrecognize that the techniques and devices described above can beutilized in a variety of devices, environments, and situations. Althoughthe subject matter has been described in language specific to structuralfeatures or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subjectmatter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to thespecific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features andacts are disclosed as illustrative forms of implementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device comprising: a front member comprising afirst rear wall, a first upper wall, and a first front wall arranged toproduce a “C” cross section, wherein a portion of the first front wallextends away from the first rear wall and comprises a shelf to supportone or more items; a first mounting hole in the front member, the firstmounting hole located on a horizontal surface of the first upper wallbetween the first rear wall and the first front wall; a parallel beamload cell comprising a first end and a second end, the first end of theparallel beam load cell affixed to an underside of the front memberusing a removeable fastener extending through the first mounting hole tothe parallel beam load cell; an interior member comprising a second rearwall, a horizontal second upper wall having a second mounting hole, anda second front wall, wherein the first rear wall is taller than thesecond front wall; the second mounting hole in the interior memberlocated between the second rear wall and the second front wall, whereinthe second end of the parallel beam load cell is affixed to the interiormember using a second removeable fastener extending through the secondmounting hole to the parallel beam load cell; a circuit board mounted tothe second rear wall, the circuit board comprising a processor, ananalog-to-digital converter connected to the parallel beam load cell andthe processor, and a communication interface connected to the processor;a connector comprising a plurality of electrical conductors that areconnected to the communication interface, wherein the plurality ofelectrical conductors are arranged on a surface of the second rear wallthat is facing the second front wall and is distal to the horizontalsecond upper wall; and an exterior member that extends from proximate tothe first rear wall to a portion of the interior member that is distalto the horizontal second upper wall, wherein the exterior memberencloses the circuit board.
 2. The device of claim 1, further comprisingan engagement feature, the engagement feature comprising: a secondportion of the interior member that protrudes from the second rear wallof the interior member towards the second front wall and extendingdistally away from the horizontal second upper wall.
 3. The device ofclaim 1, further comprising: a third mounting hole in the front memberbetween the first rear wall and the first front wall; a fourth mountinghole in the interior member between the second rear wall and the secondfront wall; wherein: the first end of the parallel beam load cell isfurther affixed to the front member using a third removeable fastenerextending through the third mounting hole to the parallel beam loadcell; and the second end of the parallel beam load cell is furtheraffixed to the interior member using a fourth removeable fastenerextending through the fourth mounting hole to the parallel beam loadcell; and further wherein the removeable fastener, the second removablefastener, the third removable fastener, and the fourth removablefastener comprise threaded screws.
 4. A device comprising: an outermember comprising a first rear wall, a first upper wall, and a firstfront wall; a load cell comprising a first end and a second end, thefirst end of the load cell coupled to the outer member; an inner membercomprising a second rear wall, a second upper wall, and a second frontwall that forms a concave region, wherein the second end of the loadcell is coupled to the second upper wall; an engagement feature;electronics connected to the load cell to generate load cell dataindicative of a load on the load cell; and one or more electricalcontacts connected to the electronics, wherein the one or moreelectrical contacts are arranged within an interior of the concaveregion.
 5. The device of claim 4, the one or more electrical contactscomprising one or more of: a spring contact extending into the interiorof the concave region, a pogo pin extending into the interior of theconcave region, or a contact pad.
 6. The device of claim 4, furthercomprising: a first mounting hole through the first upper wall of theouter member; a first fastener extending through the first mounting holeto the first end of the load cell; a second mounting hole through thesecond upper wall of the inner member; and a second fastener extendingthrough the second mounting hole to the second end of the load cell. 7.The device of claim 4, wherein the engagement feature extends into theconcave region.
 8. The device of claim 7, wherein the engagement featurecomprises a portion of the inner member that extends from the secondrear wall towards the second front wall.
 9. The device of claim 4,wherein the second rear wall comprises a first planar section and afirst lip extending towards the second front wall from the first planarsection at a right angle along a first edge and a second lip extendingtowards the second front wall from the first planar section at a rightangle along a second edge opposite the first edge.
 10. The device ofclaim 4, further comprising: an exterior member mounted to the secondrear wall, the exterior member comprising: a first planar section and afirst lip extending towards the inner member from the first planarsection at a right angle along a first edge; a second lip extendingtowards the inner member from the first planar section at a right anglealong a second edge; and a third lip extending towards the inner memberfrom the first planar section at a right angle along a third edge. 11.The device of claim 4, the second rear wall is longer than the secondfront wall.
 12. The device of claim 4, further comprising: an upperbracket extending along at least a portion of the second rear wall,along the second upper wall, and along at least a portion of the secondfront wall.
 13. The device of claim 4, the first front wall furthercomprising a bend and a portion that extends away from the first frontwall to provide a shelf to support one or more items.
 14. The device ofclaim 4, further comprising: an accessory mounted to the outer member,wherein the accessory extends horizontally beyond the first front walland the first rear wall of the outer member.
 15. The device of claim 4,wherein the engagement feature comprises a portion of the second rearwall, the portion having a first end that is distal to the second upperwall, and further wherein the first end slopes from a first distancewith respect to the second rear wall to a second distance that is lessthan the first distance.
 16. A device comprising: an outer membercomprising a first rear wall, a first upper wall, and a first frontwall; a load cell comprising a first end and a second end, the first endof the load cell coupled to the outer member; an inner member comprisinga second rear wall, a second upper wall, and a second front wall thatforms a concave region, wherein the second end of the load cell iscoupled to the second upper wall; an engagement feature; and one or moreelectrical contacts arranged within an interior of the concave region.17. The device of claim 16, wherein a portion of the first front wallextends away from the first rear wall and comprises a shelf to supportone or more items.
 18. The device of claim 16, the load cell furthercomprising a parallel beam load cell having a strain gauge that isconnected to one or more of the one or more electrical contacts.
 19. Thedevice of claim 16, wherein the second rear wall comprises a firstplanar section and a first lip extending towards the second front wallfrom the first planar section at a right angle along a first edge and asecond lip extending towards the second front wall from the first planarsection at a right angle along a second edge opposite the first edge.20. The device of claim 16, further comprising: a circuit boardcomprising: a processor; an analog-to-digital converter connected to atransducer of the load cell and the processor; and a communicationinterface connected to the processor and one or more of the one or moreelectrical contacts; and the one or more electrical contacts comprisingone or more of: a spring contact extending into the interior of theconcave region, a pogo pin extending into the interior of the concaveregion, or a contact pad.
 21. A device comprising: an outer membercomprising a first rear wall, a first upper wall, and a first frontwall; an accessory mounted to the outer member; a load cell, wherein afirst end of the load cell is coupled to the outer member; an innermember comprising a second rear wall, a second upper wall, and a secondfront wall, wherein a second end of the load cell is coupled to theinner member; an engagement feature; and one or more electricalcontacts.